Home is wherever I'm with you
by sunshinedaydream08
Summary: CHANGED THE TITLE! A Tulie story. Tim & Julie both find themselves severely struggling with different aspects of their life at the same time. Can two complete opposites help one another get through it, and will their budding friendship ever lead to more?
1. Chapter 1

**This takes place right after Tim comes back from Mexico and finds out Billy is sleeping with Jackie. He is kicked off the team, Lyla doesn't want anything to do with him, and he doesn't have anywhere to go. Julie just tried to get Matt back and he denied her…**

**This will be in multiple characters' points of view. **

**Tim's POV:**

A sharp object dug itself into the bottom of his back. He shifted, and reached around for a soft pillow to comfort the current hangover that was latching itself onto his head. His hands were only met with the cold metal. He reached down to the object and realized it was a seatbelt. Tim Riggins was not in his bed, but in his truck, parked at the Dillion High School parking lot.

He opened his eyes and was met with the beating sun. His lips were cracked in the corners and his hair was a sweaty mess. He sat up and stretched. As he opened the car door, several beer cans fell out. It must have been early because no one else was in the parking lot, and it was a Wednesday. He searched behind the driver seat, hoping to find a water bottle or a Gatorade, but only found more empty beer cans. His legs were cramped and sore.

"_Practice isn't going to be fun today".__****_

Tim shook his head, gave a bitter laugh, and realized what he just said.

Practice? What practice? He didn't belong to the Dillion Panthers anymore. His one outlet was taken away from him, just like everything else in his life. He pushed that thought into the back of his mind, got into his truck, and tried to convince himself that he was glad he didn't have to deal with drills and whistles. He could just drink some beer to take the edge off, and take a much needed nap. He just had to find a bed, first.

~~~**~~~~~**~**~~~~~~**~~~**

**Julie's POV:**  
Julie Taylor looked back at her reflection. Her hair was perfectly straight and her makeup was applied in a gentle, soft way. She had on the necklace that she wore on her first date with Matt. He had nervously complimented her on that necklace. She remembered the way he stuttered as he tried to come up with things to say. She smiled.

How could she have taken him for granted? All she wanted to do was be with him, but for some reason, her resentment towards her parents had forced her to push him away. She immediately unclasped the necklace and set it on her dresser. Matt was the QB1; the star of the high school. He wasn't going to remember a necklace he had once liked on a girl who dumped him. He had other options, and his days were spent hanging out with his teammates and dating rally girls. He no longer struggled to make conversation with the coach's daughter.

She knew she had to get over it and find someone else. She knew that she should be showing Matt that she was perfectly fine with him, and his rejection wasn't hurting her one bit. Maybe her and Lois would find new boyfriends and spend Friday nights attending cool parties and seeing movies, instead of standing in the stands, watching a football game. She could do that. She _would_ do that.

"_Baby, we're gonna be late!"_ came her mom's yell from the hallway.

"_OK! I'll be out in a sec."_

She looked at her reflection one more time, and grabbed the necklace and re-fastened it.

"_This is my favorite necklace too"_ she convinced her reflection, and walked out the door.

**Author's Note: The chapters will obviously get longer as the story progresses. I just kind of wanted to get a feel for what feedback will be like before I actually continue! I know there's not much to review, but try if you can **** Hooooookay bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Tim's POV:**

The Riggins' house was empty, which didn't serve as a surprise to Tim. Billy was off doing one of his random jobs to earn a little bit of cash. The thing that did surprise Tim was the fact that the Riggins' house was clean. It didn't stink and there weren't beer cans everywhere, like usual.

He shook his head and continued to his room. He grabbed his duffel and started gathering a few of his belongings. Tim's bag was filled with various plaid shirts and a blanket, and decided that would have to suffice. Just as his hand reached for the door, he noticed a little boy's football shirt sitting on the couch.

The shirt had the number 33 on the back. It was Bo's shirt.

Tim smirked a little as he remembered Bo's incessant pleadings that he spend time with him. That seemed like such a long time ago. The young boy was a bit of a hassle at first; just an obnoxious neighbor that had nothing better to do than cling to Tim as if he was some sort of hero. But as time progressed, Tim had grown fond of Bo, and enjoyed spending time with him. Picking up Bo from school and teaching him how to defend himself wasn't a chore. It gave Tim a sense of pride that he had never experienced before.

It had only gotten more complicated when Jackie came into the mix. Playing with the child and sleeping with the mother had turned into a pattern that Tim was surprisingly comfortable with. It felt like being a part of a real family. But as he had grown to realize, nothing good in Tim Riggins' life lasted for long.

He once again surveyed the living room and something clicked. The combination of the little boy's shirt and the lack of beer started to make sense. It seemed as if Billy had taken over Tim's role of the step-in "father". He scoffed at the idea. His brother couldn't be as good with Bo as he was. And he damn sure wasn't better than Tim when it came to pleasing Jackie.

"Fuck you, Billy!" Tim yelled.

His cursing was met with silence. There wasn't anybody to respond to him. He swallowed, and tried to bury the loneliness that was threatening to bubble up from the pit of his stomach. Tim looked at his living room one more time, threw his bag over his broad shoulder, and slammed the door. As he started up his truck he began to think of somewhere, anywhere, that he could go.

~~**~~~

**Julie's POV:**

Julie sat lazily in her desk, pretending to take notes while her English Lit teacher drawled on about Emerson and some pond. Or was it Thoreau? Julie didn't know because she wasn't listening. She usually enjoyed this class, but today she couldn't seem to focus. Instead, she was creating a list in her head of the imperfections of Matt's latest rally girl; Her eyes were too close together, and she wore her hair too tight, making her features seem severe, rather than pretty.

Julie shook her head. What was she doing? She shouldn't care who Matt was dating, and she certainly shouldn't be worrying about a rally girl's physical attributes. She looked at the clock and realized she had only been in class for ten minutes, and had a solid forty-three left. Just as she was about to raise her hand for the bathroom pass, she, along with the rest of her classmates, was startled by an abrupt bang of the door opening.

Tim Riggins sauntered in, looking slightly more disheveled than usual. Mr. Hunter immediately stopped his lecture and raised his eyes at the arrival of Dillion's most notorious truant.

"How nice of you to join us, Mr. Riggins. What do we owe the pleasure of your sudden interest in actually attending my class?"

Tim continued to the empty seat next to Julie, and without hesitating, replied with, "I'm out of beer and I had nowhere else to go."

A few kids laughed, but Julie noticed that there wasn't a hint of a smile on Tim's face. Normally a response like that would have ended up in a detention, but Mr. Hunter was at a loss for words. He rolled his eyes and continued on with his lecture.

Lyla Garrity peered over at Tim from her seat, and whispered, "Or maybe the fact that you're no longer such a big football star has made you realize you actually need some sort of education after all."

Julie watched as Tim turned to Lyla with a look of anger and resentment. He pursed his lips, simply shrugged, and stared off in another direction.

Julie was aware of the football situation, being that her father was head coach. Apparently Tim had went on a random vacation, missing a game and several practices without letting anybody know. She didn't blame her dad for the decision, but judging by Tim's current appearance, he was not coping well.

She began tapping her pencil again, and looked outside the now ajar door. It was just her luck. At that very moment, a certain gangly blonde happened to be walking by with a beautiful brunette in tow. Julie bit her lip.

"_Fuck narrow eyes. The girl is perfect_"

As Mr. Hunter's words continued to pass right over Julie's head, the rest of class period was simply forty minutes of failed attempts to avoid thinking about Matt Saracen.

Finally the bell rang, and Julie gathered her things. She was walking out the door when she heard someone say, "Wait".

She turned around and noticed Tim Riggins staring at the back of Lyla's head as Lyla proceeded into the hallway without a glance back. Julie and Tim awkwardly made eye contact, and Tim simply shrugged, once again, and in a defeated voice mumbled, "Well, shit, right?"

Julie didn't say anything. Though she didn't find herself binge drinking, not showering, or arriving to class late, she felt like she could relate to the former fullback right then and there. Being rejected was a hurtful blow to anyone's pride, especially someone like Tim Riggins. He ran his fingers through his hair and dragged himself out of his desk and left the classroom. He showed no signs of embarrassment and carried himself in a casual way as he strutted to his next class. Forcing emotion away and putting up a façade was a feeling that Julie Taylor was beginning to know all too well.


	3. Author's Note

Hey, thanks so much for the reviews thus far, and please keep 'em coming! I will be adding a new chapter soon I believe, depending on my schedule. I just wanted to kind of let you guys know that this won't be (obviously) following the exact events of the show. I'm not positive where I am going to take this, though I do have some ideas. There will be certain scenes and events that I will include, but there will also be some random things and it won't be in the exact chronological order of how it went down on FNL. I just wanted to give you a heads up. It's inspired by the show and FNL's amazing characters, but this is fan fiction so I'll be taking Tim and Julie in my own little direction. :)


	4. Chapter 3

**Julie's POV**:

Julie stretched out on her bed, chin resting on the book in front of her. She tried to engage herself in Thoreau's Civil Disobedience to the best of her ability. Her bedroom door was ajar and she could hear the cries of her baby sister, Gracie. Her cell phone was repeatedly going off because of an unread text, and her television was flipped onto MTV at a fairly high volume. All of this was going on so Julie would be too distracted to be thinking about her former counterpart. It was not working.

Homework was always more entertaining with Matt Saracen around. There was the comfort of having someone with you, helping you get through a book or essay. It didn't hurt that she could always take a study break or two to indulge in some hot and heavy foreplay either.

"Hey Jules, would you mind picking up some dinner from Alamo Freeze? I'm swamped with Gracie and your dad is busy working on plays."

Julie turned off her TV and stared at her mom in disbelief.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Oh baby, I know it's a bit of a walk but it's actually cooled off some. Don't you want a study break anyhow?"

Julie continued to stare blankly.

Her mom smiled, gave her a "thank you so much" that was usually saved for booster members or faculty that she didn't particularly care for, and retreated back to the living room to attend to her papers and the newest arrival of the Taylor family.

Julie looked in the mirror. She couldn't believe that her own mom didn't consider how horrible it was for her to have to walk into a restaurant and speak to Matt. But of course, how could anyone focus on anything other than cute little Gracie? But still, being a guidance counselor should give you some kind of insight to what it's like for teenagers after a break-up, right? Apparently that scrutiny didn't apply to your own kids.

Getting up from her bed, she analyzed her reflection. Her hair was a little tousled from her pillow, her eye make-up had faded, and she was wearing simple jeans and a tee-shirt. Going to a closet in search of a cute blouse, she stopped midway.

"Enough"

Julie needed to stop focusing so much on her appearance in front of Matt. When he had told her he didn't think it was a good idea to pick up where they left off, he had made it clear they were over. Matt dating a rally girl had only solidified his decision. So Julie walked out of her house in her plain outfit and plain make-up, feeling slightly confident that she was not going to let him have such an effect on her when she walked into the Alamo Freeze. As her legs led the way, her hands subconsciously made sure the necklace was in full view.

~~~***~~*~~

**Tim's POV:**

"Alright, catch ya later seven"

Tim walked out into the cool Texan air. His head was down as he bumped into a petite blonde standing directly in front of the door way.

"Whoa, sorry Taylor. What's the hold up?"

Julie Taylor broke eye contact with whatever was holding her attention inside the Freeze.

"Oh, sorry. Nothing. Nothing. Sorry."

He felt a little bit curious as to why she was so nervous, but then he remembered the recent break up between the quarterback and the coach's daughter.

"Don't worry about it" Tim said with a smirk, but Julie was already walking inside.

He hopped in his truck, pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards a familiar cul-de-sac. Though him and Tyra had been over for a while now, he could still recall all the times he would come over in the middle of the night after Billy and him had had one of their blowouts.

It was never over anything serious; sometimes just a drunken brawl or Tim finally getting sick of Billy breathing down his neck about his school work and his lack of responsibility. Nevertheless, he could always count on Tyra for a place to sleep and an outlet for some of his anger. No matter how drunk he was or what time the clock read, Tyra wouldn't hesitate to wrap her legs around him and let herself become his physical release.

As he parked his truck in the gravel driveway, he thought about the nights that had made him drive over here. The night his father had refused to show up to Tim's first varsity football game; the night Billy had called him a worthless piece of shit after he failed two classes; the night when he was near black-out drunk after all the beer he had consumed trying to forget about the perfect couple his best friend and girlfriend made. Anytime he felt useless, Tyra's kisses and moans made him feel on top of the world.

Tim grabbed his bag from his truck and knocked on the Collette door. Tyra answered and looked at Tim with disdain.

"Yes?"

He hesitated, nervously shifted from foot to foot, and looked at her face pleadingly.

"Hey, I really need a place to stay. Please"

She took in his messy hair and duffel.

"Forty-eight hours, Tim. That's all you got."

He nodded and followed her inside. For the first time ever, he felt uneasy being in the living room. She hadn't answered the door in a welcoming kind of way, and they weren't rushing for a bed. Or a shower. Or a counter.

"You can crash on the couch. Don't even dream about stepping foot in my bedroom."

Ouch. Tim told her he wouldn't dream of it, set his bag down, and headed to the fridge for a much needed beer. He thanked God above that it was heavily stocked with some cold Bud Light. At least that hadn't changed. Tyra just stood there, watching Tim help himself to her beer, and started to head for her room. Tim didn't know how to busy himself, and he was too sober to be left alone with his thoughts.

"Want to join me?"

He knew she probably did not want to join him. He knew she most likely was not the slightest bit happy that he was there, and there was a good chance his presence annoyed her, if not infuriated her. He refused to fully accept all this, however, because it hurt more than he expected. She begrudgingly turned around and headed for the kitchen as well, returning with a six pack. She flipped on the television and turned to Tim.

"Well, what do you feel like watching?"

~~**~*~*~**~~~~

**Julie's POV:**

She walked in just as Matt was leaning on the counter laughing with Lauren the rally girl. He lazily looked up as the bell rang, notifying him he had a customer. Julie watched as his posture changed when he noticed it was her.

She nervously met his eyes, and quietly told him she would take two "number 4's" and one large Alamo burger with extra ketchup and onions. He gave a hint of a smile, and told her she could have just said the usual. She nodded, but didn't say anything back. Her head was reeling with memories of all the times she'd come in and get discount meals for her family because of Matt. He'd laugh and pretend to ring it up while she'd sit on the counter as he flipped the burgers and filled up the soda.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Lauren, with her heavily made up face and her intrinsic hair style, sit down in a booth in the back. At least she had the decency to not parade her new relationship with the QB1 in front of the QB1's ex.

As he packaged up the food, he told her it was on the house. Julie just shook her head and handed him the money her mom had given her. He awkwardly took it, returned the change, and said "See you later, okay?"

Julie started to turn around, but stopped herself.

"Matt, I'm sorry. You were right. I was treating you horribly, and I don't know why. I was upset with my parents and I was acting out, and for some reason, I took it out on the one person I could count on. I guess I never really apologized, and I'm so sorry for that, too."

He looked at her. He seemed astonished, but he managed to find some words, and told her it was fine. That he understood.

Julie looked down, then up again, seeing that he too had traces of pain on his face. She cursed her tear ducts as she felt her eyes cloud up.

"Well, maybe we can be friends or something? Right?"

"Yeah, I'd like that."

She gave him one more smile, and walked out the door. Turning around one last time, she saw Lauren get up from her booth and go back to her position on the counter. Matt didn't look like he was smiling, but after only a few seconds, his face perked up and began laughing again.

Julie's walk back home was a lot less confident. And her necklace was left on the cracked gravel of the Alamo Freeze parking lot.

~~~~~***~~*~~

**Tim's POV**:

Two six packs later, Tim and Tyra were laughing on the Collette couch, all awkwardness forgotten. Die Hard was playing in the background as Tim got up to retrieve some more beer.

"Tim", Tyra wheezed, "You were so obsessed with this movie. I remember before every game you used to say "Yippie Kye Yay, Motherfucker" like it was no big thing. Like no one knew that you didn't make it up."

Tim shook his head at the memory that was years ago. Other memories surrounding that time frame started to resurface, like Jason Street still being the star quarterback and Lyla Garrity still being the perfect doting girlfriend, but he shut that can of worms immediately. He didn't need the bitter hole in his chest to burn at those thoughts.

Instead he cracked open two more beers, handed one to his blonde friend, and drank nearly half of his in one gulp. A commercial had interrupted the movie and quietness dawned on them. Tension started to creep up and Tim tried to shake it off like a pesky fly.

"So when is your mom coming home?"

Tyra looked out the window and shook her head. She looked at Tim and told him she didn't know. Mindy would be working late, too.

Tim nodded and took another gulp of beer. He realized it was still pretty early, only eight pm, and he was feeling a sort of energy in his legs. He was always content sitting around and drinking beer, but it was usually after or before a strenuous practice. Having the pent up energy in his body only reminded him of the fact that he was no longer part of the Panther football team.

"Did you know I got kicked off the team?"

Tyra turned away from him and nodded.

"Landry told me. I'm sorry, Tim. Why did you skip town though?"

"Jason"

Tyra nodded.

"So you and Landry are pretty close now, huh? Anything I should know about?"

She looked at him puzzled, then shook her head.

"No, not at all. We're just friends."

Tim nodded. He knew there was something more there, especially because of the way Landry was constantly raving about Tyra. Instead of pushing it further, he finished his beer and leaned into the couch a little bit more. He heard the sound of aluminum crinkling as Tyra finished her beer as well. She set it down and cleared her throat. Tim cleared his as well. He licked his lips and stole a side glance at Tyra. She leaned into Tim a little bit more.

Without thinking Tim turned his face into hers and kissed her. Hard. Before he knew what was happening, Tyra was on top of him and was unbuttoning his shirt. His brain was fuzzy but his body was working on memory, for this was familiar territory. As he lifted one hand up the back of her shirt while the other worked at the hem of her jeans, he pushed all thoughts of Lyla Garrity, Billy, Jackie, and Coach Taylor out of his head. He needed to feel on top of the world, and Tyra was willing to let him.


	5. Chapter 4

Tim's bare back felt cool and relaxed as it was exposed to the beating ceiling fan above. He yawned, stretched, and buried his head deeper into his pillow in hopes of escaping the morning sunlight. Just as he could feel himself falling back into his deep sleep he felt a sharp prodding in his shoulder blade. He brushed his hand at his shoulder, hoping to rid himself of the annoyance. It only continued. The prodding was soon met with an urgent voice.

"Tim! Get your ass out of bed and get out of my room!"

Tim rolled on his back and opened his eyes. He was met with a fully dressed, angry Tyra. He wasn't completely awake yet, but was conscious enough to remember the event of the previous night. He was also alert enough to assess the fact that she was not very happy about it.

"Tim. Seriously, you need to get out of my bed, get your things, and please, please leave."

He noticed her demand sounded more like a plea. He sat up, ran his fingers through his hair, and yawned.

Lazily, he drawled, "Tyra, listen, I don't know how last night happened but it wasn't like you were complaining."

She glared back at him. Then, her expression changed, and she slumped onto the bed next to him. Rubbing her eyes, she seemed to be deep in thought.

"I know. I know it wasn't entirely your fault. Obviously, we were both there. I just should have known something like this was going to happen."

"Well, it's okay. It doesn't have to happen again."

Her face shot up.

"You're damn right it won't happen again, but it's not okay. I'm not okay with this. " She made a motion signaling the two of them. "Us. I'm just, not okay with it."

Tim pressed his head hard against her headboard. In truth, he wasn't that okay with it either. Not that he minded the sex one bit. Oh no, the sex with Tyra had always been phenomenal. He felt at the time it was something he needed, but watching her beat herself up over it the next day was not something he was accustomed to, especially from Tyra.

"Tyra, listen. Last night shouldn't have happened. But we both were just comforting each other, and I don't know, no regrets, ya know?"

At this, she started to get worked up again, and Tim could see tears forming in her eyes.

"Enough, Tim. Enough with the 'no regrets' bullshit. Normal people have regrets, and I am one of them. I'm not the same girl I was when we were" She hesitated, trying to find a way to best describe it. "whatever… we were. I won't put up with being used by you whenever you have a bad day. I'm not your fucking stressball, okay?"

Tim pressed his hands to his temples. He knew where she was coming from. Well, to an extent. He couldn't exactly say that he was a different person, but he understood that she was. Now that he thought about it, he didn't see her at the familiar parties as often, and she never seemed to attend any football games. The biggest difference in her, however, was the fact that she wasn't throwing herself at every guy that came her way. That was obvious.

He looked at her tormented face. She was visibly upset; something you didn't often see from Tyra Collette. He rubbed her back, and she shied away.

"Don't, Tim. Please. Listen, I've known you for forever, and we'll always have our memories. But I won't do this. I can't."

He nodded. He understood.

"I can help you find another place to go. Mindy might know of some people looking for a roommate or something. I am not trying to kick you out with nowhere else to go, but for my sanity, I can't have you living here. I can't count on both of us having a rough couple days and ending up doing this again. I'm just not that person anymore, I'm sorry."

Now she was rambling. Another thing you didn't often see Tyra Collette do. And it was too early for rambling.

"I get it. I'm sorry, Tyra."

He walked out of the room, gathered his pants and shirt from her floor, and shoved them in his bag. He found his keys on the counter, and walked out. Just as he was leaving, Tyra's mom was walking in with a bag of groceries.

"Tim! What a surprise. Want to stay for breakfast, hun?"

He shook his head and kept walking, saying his no but thanks for the offer. As he started up his truck, once again with no particular destination in mind, Tyra stepped out on her porch.

"I'm sorry, too" she said. He gave her a nod, kicked his truck in reverse, and sped off.

~~~~**~~~*~***~

Today at school was surprisingly a different kind of day for Julie Taylor. While sitting in math class, her good friend Lois whispered secretly in her ear.

"Did you hear?"

Julie rolled her eyes. She wasn't in the mood for gossip. She asked Lois what she was talking about.

"Matt and Lauren broke up."

At this news, Julie gulped and tried to keep her facial expression straight. She shrugged and did her best impression of being nonchalant. She said that she didn't know that, but what she did know was that she would fail this test if she didn't listen to the review. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Lois smile knowingly.

A sudden whoosh happened in her stomach at the thought of Matt dumping his rally girl. Did she have an effect on him last night? Did her appeal to be friends mean something more to Matt Saracen? Maybe it was her apology. Either way, she fought the urge to shout that it was no coincidence that the couple broke up after Julie visited him at work.

She knew she had to remain calm about this. It didn't necessarily mean anything, but she couldn't help but think that it did.

As the bell rang, Julie walked out of class with a little bit of a hop in her step. She saw a cluster of rally girls at nearby lockers and for the first time in weeks, didn't find herself glaring at them and making critical comments in her head about their appearance. She just continued on to her next class, in hopes that she would run into Matt on the way there.

Just as she was rounding the corner to her English Lit class, she saw Matt getting a drink from the water fountain. As he stood up, they made eye contact, and Julie, feeling brave, gave him a small smile. He returned it. She didn't notice that his smile was just as hesitant as hers. Instead all she registered was that he smiled back.

She told herself she was being pathetic, but she didn't really mind. Every ounce of her regretted the way she acted towards him over the summer. She would give anything to have him back, promising she'd never take for granted such a wonderful boyfriend. It took everything inside her not to walk right up to him and ask him for reassurance that they would be okay.

He turned in the other direction and headed towards his class. Following his lead, she walked into hers. She told herself they'd have time to talk later. As the bell rang, she noticed Tim Riggins was back to his regular no-show act. Apparently his tolerance of annotating old literature had faded, and he wanted to continue soaking in his misery, or whatever it was that he did. And today, Julie felt that she couldn't relate.

~~~~***~~*

Tim sat on his the grass, leaning against his back tire. Picking at the grass and staring out at the lake, he couldn't help but think about going here with Lyla and Jason. It had been a fun night, but the weight of their affair had put a damper on the evening for both Lyla and Tim.

Tim shook his head. He couldn't get around what a jackass he was, and how much he regretted lying to his best friend. The fact that Jason Street was capable of forgiving Tim was beyond him. Tim looked out at the still water and tried to picture what Jason was doing in New York at this very moment. He couldn't believe that he was gone. Right after Mexico, Jason had made the decision that he needed to get out of Dillion. He flew to NYC and got an internship at a small sports agency. Tim felt guilt creep over him as it dawned on him that he wished Street was back here.

He knew he shouldn't want that for his best friend. He knew that he should be so happy for him that he was making it on his own, and he was, but man, number 6 would have been right by his side at this very moment, convincing his dumbass to get back to back on the field and beg for his spot back.

He cracked open a beer and felt slightly sick at that thought as well. It was almost funny how many second chances he was given. From Jason. From Tyra. He fucked most of them up, too. If he would have just kept his hands to himself he could have continued his stay at the Collette house, reminiscing with Tyra and watching a lot of Bruce Willis action films. But he was a Riggins, and Riggins' didn't have a great track record and just about anything.

He finished off his beer and opened another one almost immediately. As he gulped the cold liquid down, he heard an unforgettable voice come up from behind him.

"I thought I'd find you here."

Lyla Garrity.

Seeing her approach him he couldn't help but think to himself how beautiful she looked. Anytime he asked himself if she had been worth it, he'd have to remember the way she looked right now. Seeing her walk towards him so hesitantly, in that dress, was a good reminder of just how worth it she was.

"Garrity", he nodded.

He listened as she dove into an explanation of why she thought he could help her new friend, Santiago, become a Dillion Panther. His first reaction was to tell her to go away. Why in the hell would he help someone join the team when he had gotten kicked off?

Then he stopped himself, thinking hadn't being a jackass not paid off? Hadn't he just gotten kicked out of the last possible place to sleep because he didn't think about other people? No, he didn't want to help this Santiago character, and he didn't give a damn if he made the team or not. But knowing that it was important to Lyla made Tim nod in response, and tell her that he'd be happy to.

She flashed him a Lyla Garrity smile, thanked him, and walked back to her car. He took another sip of beer, threw the can to the ground, and decided he might as well head over to the field.

~~~**~~~*

The rest of the day hadn't gone exactly how Julie had planned. Matt wasn't waiting by her locker in between classes to talk to her, and he didn't make any effort to approach her at lunch. She pushed all negative thoughts back down her stomach, unwilling to face the possibility that Matt didn't want her back.

There was a voice in the back of her head that was telling Julie that she didn't deserve Matt, and that he was too good for her, but she ignored it. She let Lois's random rambling drown out any negative thoughts that were going through her head.

When she got home she laid on her couch and started to read Moby Dick. She thought of the first time Matt approached her. She was reading it in the diner, and he nervously came up and tried to start a conversation with her. She had known he was a football player at the time, and refused to accept his interest with her, despite the fact that she adored the way he smiled and slouched his shoulders when he said her name.

A grin teased at the edge of her mouth as she remembered their first date. Watching as Matt sang "Mr. Sandman" to his grandma in the closet.

Julie was sure Lauren hadn't seen that side of Matt. The side Julie knew so well. Lauren had only seen the Quarterback side of Matt, and Julie thought of him as so much more than that.

She was sick of waiting in house for a telephone call that may or may not happen. She made a decision that she was going to confront Matt about it, so she walked out of her living room and started making her way to the Saracen's house. It was a long walk, so by the time she finally arrived Matt was getting home from practice. He looked surprised to see her and motioned for her to sit on the porch.

Just as she is about to open her mouth, the front door bursts open and a head full of dark curls pops in the crack.

"Matthew" says a beautiful foreign accent. "What do you want for dinner? Your grandmother is starv-Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you had company. Nevermind." And quickly shuts the door.

Julie looked at Matt with confusion showing through her eyes and Matt just smiled in return.

"That was Carlota. She's helping out with my grandma."

Julie nodded, unable to completely ease the tension from her face. She closed her eyes, gathered her thoughts, and began talking to Matt. She told him once again, how sorry she was. She let him know that she was aware of his recent break up, and she timidly hinted at the idea of them getting back together. When she was finally done with her nervous speech, Matt looked down at the ground, sighed, and met Julie's eyes.

"J-Jules. You know I think about you every day, right?" She smiled. She thought about him constantly, too.

"Well, I miss us. I miss the way we were. I miss spending time with you. Seeing you last night made me realize how big a part of my life you were. Lauren didn't come close to filling it. And, And I don't know, I guess I just didn't see the point in being with somebody I wasn't that into, you know?"

She nodded and her heart started to beat faster.

"The thing is, I don't get why you dumped me. We were perfectly happy together, and you just gave up and moved on without a care in the world. I know, I, I know you said you regretted it and everything, but I just, I don't get how it was so easy to forget about me."

Julie didn't like where this was headed. Her mind started to race. She opened up her mouth to protest, but Matt's stuttering cut her off.

"I love you, Julie. I love you. I probably always will, you know? But right now, I need to figure some stuff out. My grandma's getting even worse and school is just, I don't know, I have a lot on my plate. I just, I just want to make sure I'm ready before I…I get back together with you."

She felt her heart sink and the tingly feeling in her arms disappeared. Julie could tell that she was on the verge of crying, but she bit her lip and nodded. All she wanted to do was be in his arms and let him know that she wouldn't leave him again. But he didn't want that right now, and she knew she had to give him time.

She sat there for a moment, letting everything sink in. She had such a good feeling about coming here. She really didn't expect Matt to tell her he hadn't fully forgiven her. She really thought that maybe things would get better and she could just be with him again. She stood up, and gave him a small grin.

"I love you, Matt. And I'll be here whenever you're ready."

Giving him one last look, she turned around and headed back home.

**~~~***~~****~*~**

**So, what'd you think? I've decided my chapters are going to be a lot longer from this point on, especially now that I have an idea of where I want to take this story. Please, please review. Give me advice and let me know if you like where it's headed. Next chapter will be Tim joining the Taylor household, so that should be interesting. Oh, and I'm not going to label whose point of view it's in from now on, because that was annoying and I'm pretty sure you guys can figure it out. I'll just continue with my creepy symbol things (it's all I got.) Hookay, bye! Thanks for reading. And seriously, please review. **


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